The Elle Ciel, alternatively called the Elsior (エルシオール), is a fictional flagship from the strategy/dating sim series of games based in the universe of Galaxy Angel. While it was intended to be a ceremonial ship of peace, events forced it into a new role: a beacon of hope during times of war.

Originally commanded by General Luft Weizen of the Transbaal Empire's military forces, it is more well-known for its actions under the command of Tact Mayers. In the sequel to the original Galaxy Angel series Galaxy Angel II, its captain is Tact's best friend and former X-O Lester Cooldaras.

Ship Profile

Flagship of the Angel Troupe, and under the authority of Shatoyan herself, the Elle Ciel is, like the Emblem Frames, the construction of Lost Technology. While the Elle Ciel is a ceremonial ship of peace and relies almost completely on the Emblem Frames for defense, it is not without weapons systems. Unfortunately, compared to most enemy ships, the Elle Ciel is still woefully underequipped.

It is large enough to contain many facilities that would otherwise not be found onboard a spaceship, including a huge park and a room massive enough to house a whale comfortably. In addition, in times of great need the Elle Ciel could be equipped with a devastating weapon known as the Chrono Break Cannon. Following the events of Moonlit Lovers, however, the Chrono Break Cannon was equipped to the newly activated Emblem Frames GA-007 and was heavily damaged during the battle to liberate EDEN from the Val-Fasq.

Following the events of the Galaxy Angel trilogy, the Elle Ciel has been succeeded by the Luxiole. A product of Lost Technology like the Elle Ciel was, the Luxiole is far more suited for warfare but still makes a comfortable home-away-from-home. The Elle Ciel itself has since returned to its traditional role as a ship of peace, though it was once again called to action during the events of Galaxy Angel II.

Facilities

The Elle Ciel is designed primarily as a ship of peace, and so is equipped with many comforts that one would not find on a military ship. These comforts would allow the Elle Ciel to keep guests comfortable during visits or during negotiations. There is also a good possibility that it was used by the Imperial family as their personal spaceship, based on the fact that a large part of the living deck is used for Shiva's quarters.

The Elle Ciel is made up of four blocks. During the adventure portions of each chapter of the game, Tact can explore each block to improve his relationships with the Angel Troupe members, thus boosting their abilities in battle and the likelihood of a good ending for the player's chosen Angel. The Angels are easily found, with icons of their faces appearing on the in-game map in the rooms that they are in (excepting an Angel's own chapter in the first game, in which she accompanies Tact everywhere).

Block A is primarily the command deck. It is where the bridge is located, as well as a briefing/meeting room (though it is rarely used). The huge artificial park where many of the game events occur is also found in this block. Furthermore, Tact's personal quarters are located next to the bridge, allowing for quick response to emergencies.

Block B is directly beneath Block A and contains most of the ship's food-related facilities. This includes the ship cafeteria (where Milfie can often be found helping out), the tea lounge (where the Angels, especially Mint, like to relax), an elevator hall equipped with numerous vending machines (which is also big enough to hold large events such as flea markets) and even a 24-hour convenience store.

Block C is where the living quarters of the majority of the crew are found. Each of the five (later six with the addition of Chitose) Angels have their own room, customized to fit their personalities (for example, Milfie's room includes a fully functional kitchen, while Forte's room contains her extensive gun collection). There are also guest rooms and a VIP room where Prince Shiva stayed during Eonia's coup.

Block D is the largest of the four blocks and contains an assortment of facilities. The three most important ones are the Whale Room where Kuromie Quark looks after the Space Whale, the engine room where the Chrono String Engines are located and the hangar where the Angel Troupe's Emblem Frames are docked and maintained under the care of head engineer Creta. Other facilities include the med-lab where Dr. Keyra and Vanilla can be found, a training room where Ranpha often practices her kung fu, a shooting range that acts as Forte's second home, a locker room, storage and a number of rooms that are possibly the engineer quarters.

Capabilities

Because it is completely constructed using the same Lost Technology as the Emblem Frames, the Elle Ciel is far more powerful than other ships used by the Transbaal Empire. This is made all the more impressive by the fact that even though was not designed to be a warship.

The Elle Ciel uses powerful Chrono String Engines for propulsion, and is capable of entering Chrono Space (the Galaxy Angel equivalent of hyperspace). This state is known as Chrono Drive. While this is not unusual since other vessels of the Transbaal military are capable of the same feat, the Elle Ciel is able to both enter and exit Chrono Space much faster than most other ships. This was the reason the Elle Ciel was able to escape Eonia's bombardment of the Transbaal Imperial homeworld.

Like the Emblem Frames, the Elle Ciel is equipped with shields unlike other Imperial ships. However, while the Emblem Frames have both shields and maneuverability to help them survive battles, due to the Elle Ciel's size and subsequent loss of mobility its best chances to survive a battle is not to get involved at all. While tougher than all but the most powerful of Transbaal Imperial warships, the Elle Ciel can quickly find itself surrounded by faster destroyers or cruisers.

In terms of armaments, the Elle Ciel is actually quite well-armed. Mounted on either side of the bridge section are four long range rail guns. It is also equipped with long range missiles that launch from bays on the upper section of the ship. The launchers are actually used for fireworks, but can be quickly converted to launch rockets or missiles instead. In addition, there are numerous mid-range lasers located on the upper sections of the ship for use in close combat.

Finally, when truly desperate it can be equipped with the powerful Chrono Break Cannon, a devastating weapon that can also be combined with the GA-007, a nameless design.

Crew

While it is never specifically stated how many crew members there are aboard the Elle Ciel, judging by the sheer size of the vessel, the number is likely to reach the hundreds.

While the games mostly depict the activities of a small portion of the crew (specifically the command crew, the Angel Troupe and certain notable members such as the ship's doctor and head engineer), on occasion other crew members appear or get involved.

Besides a large number of engineers who maintain the ship itself and the Emblem Frames, the crew includes security teams and medical teams as well as Prince Shiva's handmaidens and caretakers.

Kuromie Quark (クロミエ.クワルク)- caretaker of the Space Whale and animals of the Whale room

Name Change

When it was first introduced and for much of the Elle Ciels existence, it was spelled Elsior even in the Perfect Attack Guide as well as the in-game romanization. However, in the boxed edition of Galaxy Angel Eternal Lovers (2005), a special sticker was included that rebooted the name into Elle Ciel'. Since then, this has been the name used in official merchandise, including the English translation of the manga.

Trivia

The change from Elsior to Elle Ciel has caused some confusion among some fans, as Elle Ciel would have been written "エルシエ-ル" (E-Lu-Shi-E-Lu).

Similarly, Keyra's name is romanized as Kala on the Official G.A. website.